Jealousy
by Phoenixfire1389
Summary: She loves him, but she knows she'll never get her chance. EliwoodxNinian, EliwoodxLyn...one sided.Major spoilers.


Hello! This is my first Fire Emblem fanfic. Main things that you need to know… my tactician is Alexia(female, duh). Conversations that are italicized and in parenthesis are support conversations or flashbacks.

And now, without further ado…

Jealousy

_Thunk_!

Dark green hair swirled as the blue clad woman cut down yet another empty-eyed, semi-translucent enemy.

_("But… I have been false… I have lied to you and the others.")_

The Guardians of Roland's tomb came, and they were cut down. Lyn had always been an excellent swordswoman. Defeating the Guardians was child's play for her, since most of them no longer had minds of their own.

_("Ninian. I love you…")_

Normally, swordfighting allowed her to empty her mind of the things that plagued it. Today seemed to be the exception, though. Her mind refused to concentrate on the battle, no matter how many times she reminded it that a thousand years had not made the enemy's weapons any less deadly.

_("That will not change, no matter what may come.")_

With a shriek of frustration, she took the enemy mage's head clean off with one angry strike. She hit so hard that the head actually flew all the way to the end of the corridor, making sickening noises as it rolled along. Hector looked askance at her.

"Lyn? What's bothering you? You've been distracted ever since we came in here."

"It's the heat," she spat, pausing briefly to clean off the blade of the Mani Katti. Of course, she was going to be getting it dirty again soon, but she always took excellent care of the spirit sword. "It's so hot in here that I think I'm going to melt."

"Heh, you sound a little like Nils. Shall I offer to carry you too?"

"No!" Lyn cried, blushing a little. Or, she would have been blushing if her face hadn't already been flushed from the extreme heat. Her blue robe was soaked with sweat, and even though the skirt was slit almost up to her waist it was STILL too hot, "This isn't the time for jokes, Hector. But seriously, couldn't they have built this place somewhere other than the inside of a volcano?"

"I agree, Lyn. They should've left Durandal in the middle of a nice, grassy field with a sign on it that said: 'free legendary item here!'" Hector replied sarcastically. "What's really troubling you? You can tell me. We're friends, right?"

"Of course we are, Hector."

_("I don't care what your secret is-- I will still feel the same. If something troubles you, let me sweep it away.")_

"I just… it's private, okay? And we do need to concentrate on the battle and find Eliwood. We can talk about it later."

_("Please don't cry anymore. I would do anything to see you smile again.")_

"… if you say so, Lyn," Hector grumbled. He was opening his mouth to say something else when they both heard the clanking of armor and fell silent, listening for the direction of the noise.

"From the right," Lyn hissed just as Hector whispered, "It's on the left."

They both glared at each other.

"It's coming from the left," Hector growled.

"Hector, I'm the tracker here. The noises are from the right. Or have we forgotten who found the Black Fang fortress so soon?"

"I… oh fine, but let me deal with it. Sounds like a knight, and you know I'm better suited to fighting people with lances and heavy armor. Not that I'm suggesting that you're weak or anything," Hector added quickly.

"Good. Because I've been practicing my special set of lunge and thrust patterns for defeating axemen in heavy armor, and I think I've mastered it." Hector looked rather nervous at that statement. "I'll be backing you up with my bow."

"Ah, why don't you take the other fork? If we split up, we've got better chances of finding Eliwood."

"You're right." Without another word to each other, they parted ways. Lyn walked slowly at first, listening to the various clanging noises to make sure that Hector wouldn't need her help, then dashed forward. With nothing to distract her from her thoughts, her unease multiplied by tenfold.

_("You are the first woman I have ever felt this way about, Ninian.")_

_Oh, but why can't he feel that way about _**me?** _What does Ninian have that I do not? I know that he has nothing against women who can fight. He even called me beautiful once, even if he was only complimenting my swordplay. Which would suggest that he likes a woman who can fight, but Ninian cannot…_

She also knew that she was beautiful, every bit as pretty as Ninian. So, what was it? Why did Eliwood love Ninian instead of her? Why?

_Am I too forceful? Is it my Sacean blood? No, Eliwood is not so shallow that he would reject me over something like that. What is it? What am I overlooking? What makes Ninian so special? Besides the obvious, of course._

Oh Mother Earth and Father Sky, if only she hadn't overheard that accursed conversation. Then she could have just kept pretending that she had a chance at Eliwood's heart…

"Lyndis! Lyndis, watch out!"

Lyn hurled herself backwards just as a bolt of lightning slammed into the ground where she had been standing, sending chips of stone flying through the air.

"E-Eliwood?" she called.

"Over here!" he cried, riding over to her from a passageway she hadn't seen before, about three meters behind her. "You have to be more alert, Lyndis. Clearly there's a mage around here who has a Bolting tome." As if to accentuate his words, a second bolt of lightning slammed into the ground. It missed both of them, but struck close enough to make Eliwood's horse rear in terror.

"I apologize. I was simply worried about you. You shouldn't have gotten separated from us like that! What were you thinking?"

"I… I simply went a little ahead, and then when I turned around you two weren't there. And speaking of two, what happened to Hector?"

"We split up a while back to look for you. Alexia is with Pent and Louise. They took the far right pathway."

"Okay. I'll go back and find Hector, you get rid of the mage. Then we'll find Pent and Louise, and head for the altar. There's a berserker guarding it, and he looks powerful."

"Okay." Eliwood clapped her shoulder, exactly the way he clapped Hector's shoulder, and rode off.

Yeah. They were just friends. Nothing more.

Lyn wanted to cry.

* * *

"You're not sweating," Hector said to Alexia.

"I'm special," Alexia replied in her impish manner, sticking out her tongue. Alexia was nineteen years old, going on five, but a tactical genius nonetheless.

"I'm serious. You're wearing that heavy green cloak, in the middle of a LAVA PIT, and you're not sweating."

"Yeah, but I also had frostbite almost constantly on the way to and from the Black Fang's mountain fortress. So the universe evens out. And if you keep bugging me about this, I'll deploy you as Serra's bodyguard next time we get into a skirmish."

"Ack! Elmine preserve me!" Hector moaned while everyone else laughed.

"Of course, I don't think you could handle Serra without some help. I'm sure that Matthew and Jaffar would be happy to… wait.Berserker, dead ahead. Weapon… Tomahawk. NOT good. Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector forward. Pent, standby and healing. Louise, stick with Pent. Lyn, be very careful. You don't wear much armor, and one hit just might kill you."

"I'm careful," Lyn replied coldly.

"Not lately," Alexia grumbled, with a 'we'll talk about this later' glare in her eyes that made Lyn cringe. Technically, Alexia worked for the three lords. However, Alexia was perfectly capable of deploying them with people they hated. Or, in the company of two people who hated each other, like Matthew and Jaffar. So, what Alexia wanted, happened.

_And I know she probably wants to talk about me and Eliwood. She's excellent with relationships, so she must have figured it out._ And that wasn't a conversation Lyn wanted to have. But, unless she wanted to be spending an inordinate amount of time with people like Sain, she didn't really have much of a choice. _She might joke about deploying people with Matthew AND Jaffar, but she'd never actually do it. Would she?_

"And where will you be?" Hector asked, although everyone knew what Alexia's answer would be.

"Um… me? Up there with the chopping, slicing thing? I don't dodge like Lyn does. I'm staying back here where it's safe. Now, onward troops!"

* * *

People were smiling and morale was running high when Eliwood stepped out of the cave bearing Durandal, flanked by Lyn, Hector, and Alexia. Lyn's smile felt strained to her, because she knew that Eliwood had faced the horrors of that tomb to save Ninian first, and defeat Negral second.

_Ninian, Ninian, Ninian. Everything revolves around Ninian. Why her instead of me? Why am I not worthy, Eliwood?_

"Ouch!" Lyn yelped, whirling around to see who had hit her. Alexia was glairing bloody murder at her.

"You. Need. To. Move. On," Alexia hissed, her silver eyes blazing. "You're only going to hurt yourself if you keep going like this."

"You sound like you speak from… what was that?" Lyn gasped. Everyone had frozen at the sound of an ear-splitting roar.

And then, over the mountains, came a teal-colored dragon.

"It can't be! A dragon!" Lyn cried.

"Everyone, stand back!" Eliwood charged forward, Durandal in hand, and felled the creature in one swift stroke.

"Are you alright, Eliwood?" Lyn asked, casting hesitant glances at the dying dragon, refusing to believe that killing such a beast could have been so easy. The beast stared up at her, its large red eyes seemed to be pleading with her to do… something.

Come to think of it, didn't those eyes look familiar? Sort of like…

_Ninian!_

"It was strange," Eliwood murmured, ignoring Lyn and looking at the sword in his hand with a touch of nervousness. "My arm seemed to move on its own accord. It was almost as if the sword itself was guiding me."

_("Um, Lady Lyn?"_

"_What is it, Florina?")_

"The sword of sacred fire was made to combat dragons," Archsage Athos commented. "With such powerful magic, who can really say what the sword is capable of?" Athos turned his gaze to the dragon and murmured something beneath his breath. Lyn was sure that neither Hector nor Eliwood could hear it, but she understood perfectly. "But, this ice dragon… surely it can't be…"

_("Ninian and Nils… they're human, right?"_

"_Of course they are, Florina! Why ask such a silly question?")_

"Is something wrong, Lord Athos?" Eliwood asked.

_("Well, I was talking to Ninian, and we somehow got onto the subject of dragons. Ninian was talking about how two species as different as dragons and humans could never live together, and I pointed out that my Pegasus and I are very different species, but we get along fine. Then she said 'I see… yeah, you must be right! I mean… we get along, don't we?' What do you think she meant by that? Y-you don't think…"_

"_Florina, Ninian and Nils are not dragons. If they were, why would they let Negral just keep tormenting them? Wouldn't they have eaten him by now? Although, I doubt someone as evil as Negral would taste very good…"_

"_Ha… you're right, Lady Lyn. I must have just misheard. But could you please keep this conversation a secret? Ninian is my friend, and I don't want people misunderstanding like I just did."_

"_Florina, I would never dream of telling anyone about one of our conversations without your permission...")_

"No… I am sure it is nothing," the Archsage replied. _But it's not nothing! If I say something, maybe they can save her…_

_But haven't I been praying for this for weeks now? For my chance with Eliwood?_

_But he'll never forgive himself if he finds out that he killed Ninian!_

_So? All I have to do is make sure that he never finds out! This is my chance…_

_No, that shall never work. I have to say something! I have to…_

"Let me be the judge of that!" hissed an all-too-familiar voice, and Lyn knew in her heart of hearts that it was already too late. All she could do was look into the crimson eyes of the woman she had envied and listen in numb horror as the disaster unfolded, a disaster that she knew would shatter Eliwood's heart forever.

_This… _this _is why I am unworthy. Eliwood shouldn't have to hear this from that blackheart, but I can't bring myself to tell him. Worst of all…_

Worst of all, she knew that a small part of her was actually happy. Ninian was finally out of the way.

_I never wanted it to turn out like this! _She wailed in silent protest.

"Look upon the hideous form of the creature you have slain, Eliwood! She's using the last of her power to return to her human form. I think… if you hurry… that there might be enough time to say good-bye," Negral sneered. Then he turned his gaze away from Eliwood, and looked straight at Lyn.

And them, he did something that made no sense, something that couldn't make sense. He sneered at her and _winked_.

No one noticed this, though. They were all too busy staring as the dragon started shrinking into the form of a dancer that they all knew very well.

"I… aaaaaaaaaah!" Eliwood howled, hurling Durandal away from him and dashing over to the only woman he could ever love.

"Gods, no…" Alexia moaned, tears rolling down her face. Lyn felt herself crying too.

Time blurred. Negral's grandiose taunts passed her by completely. All she could do was stare at Eliwood, holding Ninian's corpse as if he could warm her back to life. His gaze, once so focused, was blank and dead.

Negral gave one last parting line, which Lyn was too distraught to hear, and vanished. As soon as he did, Nils snapped out of whatever trance he had been in and sat up.

"Unh…" he groaned, rubbing magic-induced sleep from his eyes. "What… happened? Wh-where's Ninian?"

_He's looking at me. _Me, _not Hector. Not Eliwood, because we're standing in front of him. Yup, he's definitely looking at me._

And, for the second time that day, Lyn found herself unable to say anything at all.

* * *

I'm planning for this to be a one-shot. I could do a second chapter, but only if people want to read it. So review and tell me. As a matter of fact, _any _reviews are helpful. Ireally want somehonest opinions on this. 


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